AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 89, 17 April 1899, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.

TRIALS AT MANGEKE

In spite of tfcie wet squally morning, there was a large attendance of the farmers and business people at the public trial bf implements held at Mangere on Saturday afternoon, under the auspices of tire Aucklunel provincial Agricultural Association. All the principal implement makers and importers exhibited implements, the chief interest at iirst centreing in the ploughs, of which there were a great \aiifccy. The iN.Zi. .Loan ana ivieroantiie v^-ompanj showed one oi the Hpalding-ivobuins rotary disc ploughs; lUessrs i. and b. Morriu snowed a cutaway disc plough, and botn riding and warning C/uvti- ploughs; Messra E. I'orter and Co. a Deere's Spring Kid riding plough'; .Messrs 3. Burns and Co. a Fiying Dutchman double iurrow and a xiooui and Macdoriald's double, furrow plough; kider and patent Muitiiyiie mou,ld board ploughs were exhibited by Messrs Elver and Co.; while Messrs Beaney and Co, and Absolum and St. George showed some ploughs of their own manufacture. The work done by both these ploughs was for the most part so very good that opinions were very much divided as to their relative merits. Considerable interest was taken in the novelties. Among' the single furrows, the Muitityne mould board plough., pa^ tented by Messrs Eider and Barugh (which it was claimed cleaned well in sticky land, and left the furrow in a more pulverised state than the ordinary ploughs) attracted considerable attention, as did also a gang plough shown by Mr J no. Udy for Messrs Porter and Co., which turned an 18----inch furrow. The old.favourite Oliver ploughs, shown by Messrs.Morrin and Co., under the management of Mr George' Ballarcl, and the excellent single furrow ploughs manufactured by Messrs Absolum and St. George, also did their work exceedingly well, and the opinion was freely expressed that they still held their own, though the draught of Elder and BanlgrTs patent ploughs, on testing, proved to be somewhat less.' The draught of the Spalding-Robbins rotary disc three fiwrow proved to be very heavy (Bcwt), and it was thought that the plough was. better adapted for summer fallowing under Australian conditions than for New Zealand work. It was, however, said that Mr. W. F. Massey had been working'one of these ploughs for some time with good results, and that it had done good work in very hard ground in the adjoining paddocks. The draught of all these ploughs was tested by Mr \V<?stney( the president) and Mr Jno. tidy, with the following results:

Double Furrows.—Messrs Beaney and Co.'s double furrow riding plough, draught o|cwt when turning two 12V inch furrows 5 inches deep; Absolum and St. George's D.F. plough, draught sScwt, turning- 22 inches, depth 54 inches; John Burns and Co.'s Flying Dutchman D.F. plough (John Burns and Co., agents), 4|ewt, width 23 inches, depth 5i inches; Booth and Macdonald's D.F.. shown by J. Burns and Co., draught s|cwt, width 23in., depth Gin.

Single Furrows. —Deere's Spring Kid riding plough, shown, by Mr John Udy (Porter and Co.. agents), draught 4 cwt, width 17 Jin,., depth 6in; Oliver Crescent plough, S.F., with skim conltei', shown by Mr G. Ballard for Messrs T. and S. Morrin, draught 4^in, width 13in., depth 6inj Absolum and St. George, S.F., draught 3Jin., width 14in., depth 6in.; Elder and Barugh's patent S.F., draught 3cwt, width 12in., depth s|in.

Three Furrow. —Spalding-Ttobbins' rotary disc plough, draught Bcwt., width 24in., depth 6m.

A large number of farmers also gathered rouaid the Melotte Hand Cream Separator, shown Try Messrs J. Burns and Co., the Sharpies Little Grant Steam Separator, shown by Messrs T. and S. Morrin and Co., and the keenest interest was manifested in their ' manipulation. It. -was stated that one of the latter ha* just been, started on the farm of Mr J. Conder, where it is working most satisfactorily. . ■

At the close a trial was mrfde of .the cultivators. Messrs Porter and Co. exhibited one of Deere's steel reversible tooth 'Ajax1 harrows, and Messrs Burns and Co. a Syracuse spring tooth cultivator, both of which worked very well iudeed. The horses for the competition were kindly prbvided by Messrs Gray, Gill. Paul, Ballard, Sims, and W. F. Massey, M.H.K. The latter gentleman also entertained a number of the exhibitors at lunch, provided refreshments for the workmen, superintended the horsing1 of the implements,1 and contributed materially to the success of the meeting.